CD Duplication - What You Should Know

With the increasing amount of CD duplication options for equipment, its very important that you read the
reviews for the different types of equipment you are considering before you make that final decision
and choose your model. 

The best CD duplication equipment for your project will all depend on the volume of CDs you plan to
duplicate at a time, and the amount of money that you are planning to invest on a particular piece of
equipment.

Your best source for reading reviews of CD duplication equipment is on the Internet.  There are many
different consumer websites out there that will allow users to post reviews of equipment, then rate them
on a five or ten point scale.  Anytime you are  reading reviews, it's very important that you get your information from a trusted and reliable source.

Websites that are up by the owner of the product, or those that are trying to sell you specific hardware
normally aren't the best to turn to when you need to read a review.  No one who is trying to get you to
buy a certain piece of hardware is going to tell you about the flaws the equipment has, or even let
you know about a competitor who has a similar item for sale at half the price.

All across the internet, you can find many different websites that offer the information you seek.  There
are several that offer forums, where other users will tell you honest opinions and give you feedback
about the equipment they own.  This can be a great way to find out about the duplication equipment
your interested in and what else is available for you to purchase.

Another excellent place to look for CD duplication equipment reviews is trade magazines and even
electronic magazines.  Magazines will normally test equipment then share their their opinions with their
readers.  Always be sure when you are reading a review that it's an article sponsored by the magazine and not a paid advertisement.

CD duplication reviews of equipment are a great  resource when trying to find a piece of equipment
to use.  With so many on the market, its always good to have resources when you need to make
an important decision.  A review will also tell you everything the label and description of the  product leaves out, which can help to ensure you get the best piece of duplication equipment for your hard earned money.

Storing Your CDs

There are many different storage alternatives for your CD collection. The factors for storage include how many CDs you own and how long you plan to keep them.

Below, you will find several alternatives for storing your CDs:

1. CD jewel cases

You have probably owned these before, as they are the most common. They can hold your CD cover art and are very easy to line up on a shelf. Keep in mind that they do break rather easily and they take up quite a bit of space.

2. Plastic CD sleeves

Plastic sleeves are cheap and thin, so they are easy to afford and easy on shelf space. Since they
are so thin, they obviously don't offer a lot in terms of protection. For long term storage, they
generally aren't recommended.

3. Paper sleeves

For short term storage needs, paper is very cheap and doesn't use much space. Simliar to plastic
sleeves, paper is thin and doesn't offer very much protection.

4. Paperboard sleeves

Paperboard sleeves are much thicker than paper so they will protect your discs. They are also
inexpensive, although they can be hard to seal.

5. Tyvek CD sleeves

Tyvek sleeves are cheap and they don't take up a lot of space. For long term storage, Tyvek is
normally recommended.

6. CD-ROM disc cases

These types of cases can hold a lot of CDs in a small space and they may even help to keep out
dust. They do however, make reading labels a bit hard, they keep CDs out of site, and they will
take up a lot of space.

7. CD spindles

Spindles are cheap and they hold several hundred CDs in a small stack. Sorting through them is
hard if you need one specific disk, which makes it something that isn't normally recommended.

Musicians and CD Duplication

These days, technology is always available for any inspiring musician to record, create, and even
duplicate CDs. The duplication of CDs will involve CD-R media. CD-R media prices have dropped a lot over the last several years, making them affordable for anyone who wants to use them.

If your band is ready to start selling CDs, your best option may be to have your CDs replicated.
Replicated CDs are the same CDs that you'll find in music stores by major label artists. They all
have excellent artwork printed on the CD inserts, nice tray card inserts, screened art on the CD,
and they are even shrink wrapped.

The retail CDs that you buy aren't duplicated, they are replicated. This means that an exact replication of your master CD has been stamped out on all of the other CDs. If you are serious about selling your music for profit, replication is the way to go.

The fact is, most stores simply won't sell duplicated CDs. Duplicated CDs can be against the law,
which is the main reason retail stores simply won't carry them. Replicated CDs let the stores
know that the CD is legit, and they will almost always carry those CDs.

For musicians and inspiring bands, CD duplication can tend to be a bit more expensive than that
of replication. To duplicate CDs, you need a computer with a CD burner, your CD-R media, cases, and a lot of man hours.

With CD replication, you can get many more copies, professional artwork, a barcode for inventory, and cases included. Replication is obviously to expensive for those looking to simply back up pictures and data on a personal computer, although the prices are just right for musicians looking to make profit off of their CDs.

Music CD-R And Data CD-R

People who are new to computers and duplication, will sometimes confuse CD-R music media with CD-R data media. While confusing them is easy to do, the two are different indeed. Even if you have some experience with computers, confusing them is very easy to do.

As you may or may not know, there are differences between music CD-R and data CD-R disks. The obvious difference is, of course, the name. With one named CD-R music and one named CD-R data, you know there has to be some type of difference between the two.

What's known is that there are indeed technical differences in what is embedded in blank music
CDs when compared to blank data CDs. These differences center upon bytes that are within
the sub channels of the blank music disks.

This doesn't affect the quality, as both audio and data can be duplicated onto both music CD-R
disks and data CD-R disks. You can burn data onto music CD-R, and music onto data CD-R media without any problems. Keep in mind, whether or not you get data on a music CD-R will depend on what type of hardware you use to duplicate the CD.

If you plan to use a PC to do all of your burning, it won't matter. A PC doesn't differentiate
between music CD-R and data CD-R. PCs will see a blank media CD and duplicate information on it that pertains to the settings you have outlined in the software you plan to use to burn the CD.

If you plan to use a seperate CD burner, it may or may not let you burn data or music on
a generic blank or data CD-R. Some hardware are funny like that, as they only want you to
use blank media with well known brand names that they have approved of.

If you plan to do most of your CD duplication on a computer, it really doesn't matter which
type of blank CD-R you use. They will both work fine in most cases when you store either
music or data. When storing data, you have a limit of 700 MB, while music will have a limit
of a little over an hour of tunes.

For your duplication needs, computers are the ideal way to copy media. You can use equipment
outside of a computer and CD burner, although you'll need to check the operations manual
and see what they recommend for media. If you have a computer or access to one, it can do
wonders in the areas of music and data CD-R duplication.

Intro To CD Duplication

The first thing you must know, is that there are many different types of CD duplication. Some of them happen to be illegal, which is why you'll need to make sure that the CDs you are duplicating are allowed by local laws and regulations.

The CD duplication process is basically taking one CD and making a copy of it, or if you prefer, many copies of it. A CD can store information of many forms, such as pictures, movies, data, and even music. Therefore, you'll need to determine which type of duplication you are interested in.

You'll also need to think about how many copies you plan to make as well, as the costs of equipment will vary. Most computers that you buy these days will come with a CD-RW drive, and the software you'll need to make copies of the CD disks.

CD duplication is very easy to do, as you all you have to do is a few clicks. Even if you are new to computers, you'll find that duplicating CDs is one of the easiest things you'll do with your computer.

With the common software, you can copy an audio or even a data disk in just a few minutes. The most common program is Nero, as it does wonders for CD duplication and CD-RW drives. If you have access to Nero, you'll find it very easy to use and very
handy to have installed on your computer.

Once you begin to copy CDs, you can make copies of your audio CDs, back up your computer, even make copies of your pictures. The sky is the limit with CD duplication - which is the main reason it has become so popular over the years.

CD Duplication 101

If you've been shopping for blank CDs or blank DVDs recently, you may have found yourself a bit confused by all of the choices - CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW. Trying to figure out the abbreviations between them can be a bit mind racking indeed.

To make matters worse for those who aren't up on the lastest marvels of technology is the rate at which the industry of technology is evolving. Just when you think you've caught on to the concepts of MP3s and burning CD and DVD media, new twists on blank media hits the market and you found yourself confused more than you were to
start with.

The "R" found in CD-R and DVD+/-R media stands for recordable. It will tell consumers that these disks are blank recordable media. You can record movies, data, music, and photos on the disc, but the discs cannot be erased.

The "RW" on CD-RW and DVD+/-RW media stands for rewritable. This lets you know that media with RW on them can be recorded and erased several times. Even though the prices for blank CD and DVD media is inexpensive, you can expect to pay a bit more for RW type media.

The biggest source of confusion stems from DVD-R and DVD-RW and how they are different from DVD+R and DVD+RW media. In order to avoid a long technical speech on the differences, you simply need to know that each DVD types can record movies just like the next type.

DVD+R and DVD+RW are a newer more expensive technology that offers a few technical advantages over DVD-R and DVD-RW. None the less, DVD-R has greater compatibility with more DVD players than any other format of blank DVDs.

If you have a newer DVD player or if you use your computer to play back media, you should have no problems with DVD+R/DVD+RW media. Some say that they provide a better range of quality, although the quality is indeed similar.

Keep in mind that all recordable CD and DVD media do the same thing regardless of their particular brand or extension. Because there is not an industry standard that involves DVD technology, not every DVD player is compatible with each and every format you see on retail store shelves.

For this very reason, you should always check with DVD player manual to see which type of recordable media it will play back. This way, you'll know what to buy the next time you go shopping for blank CD or DVD media.

CD Duplicating Within Your Budget

If you plan to produce, market, and sell your own CDs, you have the need for high quality CD duplication. If you have the need for great quality and great prices, you should thing about things before you turn to one company to do all of the duplicating for you.

No matter what you use it for, CD duplication is an expense that shouldn't take over your budget at all. Below, you'll find several tips on how to keep duplication within your budget.

1. Shop with comparison

All companies out there need to able to find the company that is going to give them the best possible price. If you have access to the internet, you can do this online. Look from one company to another until you find the best price that fits
your budget.

2. Keep within your budget

Although this is easier said than done, it's very important to find a company that can work within your budget or you'll need to get a bigger budget. Even though you may not realize it now, doing these types of things on credit can hurt you later on down the road.

3. Quality

If your music or other CDs mean a lot to you, then you should put them in the hands of a reliable duplicator - and never skimp on quality. Always make sure you a guarantee of the quality of their work as well, to protect yourself.

CD duplication is a must have for the movie and music business. There's no doubt that you need this type of service, although you should take the time to find the best company for the job. When it comes to developing your product - you'll want to have only the best.

Disc Quality

The high demand and dramatic increase in CD media, plus the competitive pressures to squeeze out every possible cost and improve the profit margins have given rise to many manufacturers of CD related media. To help reduce the costs of increasing
capacity, many of these firms have relocated their old manufacturing lines and hired staff that learn on the job.

The biggest problems with CDs occurs when discs are produced using older equipment then end up failing when you try to use them. Luckily, most of these types will fail when you first try to record on them. There is however, a likelihood that the disc will complete a burn and the media won't play at all.

The agony of taking your photo or video treasures and putting them on CD or DVD and then deleting them from your camera or computer only to realize that the copy is corrupted is far too much to risk. The brand name company's such as Verbatim choose to guard their reputation for quality and durability by using only advanced recording dye and other types of technology to produce high speed discs.

The stability of the recording dye is very critical as heat, humidity, oxygen, and even UV light can degrade the dye. Verbatim research has also proven there is a strong correlation between the production and bonding processes of disc quality.

For data and personal pictures that are important, you should always buy quality CD media. Then, before you go ahead and delete the source file, trying playing the disc back to ensure that it copied correctly. This way, you won't have to worry about losing your precious files and photos when you remove the source from your computer.

Differences Between CD and DVD Media

Even though both CD and DVD disks have the same media size and shape, the things they have in common ends there. There are many different things between the two, such as what they hold and how much they hold.

Data pits and lasers

A disc has microscopic grooves that will move along in a spiral around the disc. CDs and DVDs both have these grooves, with laser breams applied to scan these very grooves.

As you may know, digital information is represented in ones and zeroes. Inside of these discs, very tiny reflective bumps known as lands and non reflective holes known as pits, which can be found beside the grooves, reflect both the ones and the zeroes of digital information.

By reducing the wave length of the laser to 625mm or more infrared light, DVD technology has managed to write in smaller pits when compared to the standard technology of CD. This will allow for a greater amount of data per track on the DVD. The minimum length allowed for a pit in a single layer DVD-R is .4 micron, which is obviously more than the .0834 micron that a CD offers.

The tracks of a DVD are narrower as well, which allows for more tracks per disc, which also translates into more capacity than a CD. The average single layer DVD holds 4.5 GB of data, while a CD holds a mere 700 MB.

Layers

As stated above, a DVD has smaller pits and the lasers need to focus on them. This is actually achieved by using a thinner plastic substrate than in a CD, which means that the laser needs to pass through a thinner layer, with less depth to reach the pits. It's this reduction in thickness that's responsible for the discs that were only 0.6mm thickness - which is half that of a CD.

Data access speed

DVDs will access data at a much faster rate than a CD can. The average 32X CD-ROM drive reads data at 4MB a second, while a 1X DVD drive reads at 1.38MB a second. This is even faster than an 8X CD drive.

Universal data format

The recording formats of CDs and DVDs are quite different, as DVDs use UDF, or the Universal Data Format. This format allows data, video, audio, or even a combination of all three to be stored in a single file structure. The advantage to this is any file can be accessed by any drive, computer, or even consumer video. CDs on the other hand aren't compatible with this format.

Copy Like A Professional

Anyone who has burned CDs in the past has had to have encountered this problem - your CD doesn't want to play in certain CD players. You've probably tried switching to a different brand of disks, switching the writing speed of your CD burning
software, and yet nothing seems to work.

Most professional CDs that are purchased from a retail outlet such as Circuit City or Best Buy works in any type of CD player, which probably makes you wonder what they are doing that your not. All of us wonder this, especially when out duplicated
CDs don't want to play back like they should.

Much to the contrary, it's because the music industry burns their CDs differently. Instead of simply duplicating CDs, the music industry chooses to replicate CDs. Even though the terminology may seem synonymous, the process is actually totally different.

CD replication is used for the mass production of CDs, which is normally more than 500. Instead of writing the data to a CD using a laser as with duplication, CD replication uses a glass master to stamp (or press) the data onto the disc. This helps to eliminate almost all of the issues associated with playability that are
encountered when burning CDs at home. CD replication is a far superior process of burning CDs.

Important to note, is the superior quality of CDs that are pressed using replication doesn't come cheap. Even when using independant CD duplication companies such as Absolute Disc or Oasis, there is still going to be a very high cost associated with the replication of disks.

For your next project, try having your CDs replicated rather than duplicated. This will ensure your project is very high quality, even though you'll need to order more than 500 CDs to recive this process.

Copy CDs And Save Money

Just a short while ago, the only people who had access to CD duplication were professional musicians, record company executives, and the higher end recording studios. As technology increased and became more affordable, private CD duplication
companies began to pop up all over the United States and other major music centers throughout the country.

These days, CD duplication has never been more accessible or more affordable. Most home computers and laptops come with a CD-RW burner and software that is very user friendly, making CD duplication very convenient.

Even if you are new to computers, you'll find CD duplication very easy to figure out. You don't have to be a computer expert to use the CD-RW burner or the software, as most of it is self explanitory. All you need to do is give it a run
and see easy things actually are.

Those who are needing a large quantity of CDs duplicated or simply wish to have a professional company burn their CDs, there are several out there that offer great rates, package deals, and quality recordings. You can get as many as you want, with
quality that matches that of the master copy.

Most CD duplication companies offer packages that will include inserts, tray cards, and even packaging should you choose to take your duplicates to retail sale.

You can also choose to have your graphic work imprinted on the inserts or have the CD duplication company design a totally new design for your very product. If you are worried about the inventory, barcodes can be imprinted on the CD case or the
sleeve by the same company.

For whatever duplication needs you may have, there are companies out there that offer duplication or you can do it yourself. Either way you choose, you'll get the copies you need in no time at all.

CD Duplication Information

It's important to realize from the start that the duplication and replication process is the same,regardless of content, as well as the differences between the CD duplication and replication process.

The duplication of CDs refers to burned CDs, such as the CD burner with a personal computer. The burned audio CDs have playability issues in some CD players, normally car stereos, portable CD players,and even older types of CD players.

The duplication of CDs has much faster turn times, simply because a stamp doesn't need to be made. The process of duplication can start as soon as the master is received, where the replication process doesn't start for 5 - 7 days, during which time a glass master and stamper must be made.

When done locally with a personal computer, you can duplicate an audio or data CD in just a couple of minutes. To duplicate a CD, you must have a computer with a CD-RW drive. This drive copies the CD disks, and without one - you simply cannot copy disks.

If you have a DVD-RW drive, you can copy both DVD and CD disks. These drives are normally the way to go, as they can copy virtually anything you stick in the drive. Once you have your drive, you'll also need software to copy the disks, which
there are many out there for you to choose from.

With a CD-RW drive, you can copy audio CDs, data CDs, even make SVCD copies. The disks used for CD will hold up to 700 MB (MegaBytes) of data, or up to a little over an hour of music.

With everything CD duplication has to offer you, its no wonder why it's so popular. If you've never tried duplication before, you should rush and get you a CD-RW drive for your computer right now - as the many uses will simply amaze you.